Jeff Healey passes away

[Reggie Dunlop]

A man of many talents and interests. He hosted a CBC Radio show which focussed on Jazz (largely drawn from his immense collection of old, obscure 78s). He also could have given Mel Blanc a run for the money with his spot-on cartoon character mimicry.

Always wanted to check out his Healey's Roadhouse in Toronto. Supposedly a real hoppin' joint.

[Engine09]

That's too bad, great musician.

Weird thing, just last night I was going through some old VHS tapes and ran across "Angel Eyes", I was wondering what he was up to. Sad to hear that he's gone.

[Rhetts_the_Best]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

Wow, that's a shocker to me. I didn't even know he had cancer.

Yah, that is also apparently what made him blind.


http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=XqU9RZ...eature=related
He even left the great Srv in awe!

[icarus]

RIP Jeff Healey.

I remember when I was a kid my brother pointed him out to me in an airport and it was the first 'celebrity' sighting I ever had.

Went to Healey's in Toronto a few years ago, was (is) a cool place.

[SeeGeeWhy]

Originally Posted by Rhetts_the_Best

Yah, that is also apparently what made him blind.


http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=XqU9RZ...eature=related
He even left the great Srv in awe!

Awesome.

[bigtmac19]

RIP Jeff Healey
He was an awesome talent.
The first time I saw him was in the early/mid 80's in Calgary at the King Eddy.

[gildo]

Great Canadian Rocker! Very sad to see him go....got a chance see him live back in the 80's in Cranbrook BC when he was there with Haywire!

[greyshep]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Holy crap! I didn't even know he was blind...

Cancer sucks. My cousin died last friday of cancer. the thread the other day about where your charity money goes reminds me that most of my future donations will go to cancer research. My grandfather also died of cancer, but having a 24 y/o cousin die from it really illustrates to me how crappy that disease really is.

RIP Jeff Healy

My condolences on your loss.

I have a 35yr old cousin who is battling cancer right now too. Just completed a bone marrow transplant a week ago. We are sure hoping he comes through it well.

Also it is looking like my father in law has liver cancer. Was just admitted to the hospital on the weekend.

It is so true that this disease hits everyone somehow in their lifetime whether directly or indirect.

[First Lady]

[redforever]

Sadly, it seems his son has inherited the mutation that caused Jeff's blindness.

While his daughter, Rachel, didn’t inherit the form of retinoblastoma Healey had, his son wasn’t so lucky. Amniotic fluid showed that the now three-year-old Derek carried the mutation.

It also wasn’t until 2005 that Healey learned that he and his son were at risk for secondary cancers.

“I used to believe that once they had removed my eyes, that was the end of the story,” Healey said. “I understand now that having this (mutation) in my blood, this won’t be my last encounter with cancer.”